


The Cop and the Boy from the Mountaintop

by thatoldeblackmagic



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Iwa is a small town cop who finds a recently abducted oiks, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Swearing, Uhhh alien abduction, but nothing graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:20:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26368576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatoldeblackmagic/pseuds/thatoldeblackmagic
Summary: “Yeah, from space.  Something in space.  Something, unidentifiable.  An object for sure though, it was concrete, not abstract, and it hovered in the air, almost like flying, and-”“No.”  Hajime sets the pen down onto the table a little harder than he intended.  “A UFO?  Seriously?!”
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	The Cop and the Boy from the Mountaintop

**Author's Note:**

> Iwaoi?? In my 2020?? Its more likely than you would think!

It’s a weirdly slow night for New Years Eve which would definitely serve as some sort of omen if Hajime was a superstitious man. As it stands, he isn’t. 

Matsukawa pointed out after roll call earlier that tonight is a full moon, the coffee maker just broke down, Mr. Takawa hasn’t called about the voices speaking to him through the walls in nearly a week and a half. Which is apparently the perfect formula for a shit storm, according to Makki, but Hajime has never taken stock in karmic retribution and instead stops by the combination gas station and Starbucks where they know his name and his order. It’s just a large dark roast with an extra shot and room for cream, but Hajime has learned to appreciate the little things.

Just past midnight finds him and Matsukawa parked out by the field that the highschool kids use for their bonfires. They’re out on a low hill, close enough to be there when someone blows their hand up with a Roman Candle, but far enough away that the kids don’t think they’re getting busted. It’s a bit nostalgic. Every year he wonders if his name is still scorched into the plank of wood they still use as a bench, but every year he fails to check.

Makki got stuck doing traffic for the firework show in town and is blowing up their group chat with pictures of the show interspersed by a live commentary of his people watching.

The night has been passing slowly, almost peacefully which is why Hajime isn’t surprised when exactly twelve minutes past midnight dispatch keys up with, “Eleven-oh-eight”.

Of course they would call him and not Mattsun. Sometimes he thinks Yahaba plays favorites just to spite him personally. “Yeah go ahead.”

“I’m sending you this suspicious person call off of Maple Park Ave in reference to a male walking up and down the street for the past several minutes looking distraught and confused… appears to be wearing a hospital gown and keeps yelling at the sky…?” There’s a long pause before, “Taller male with brown hair, appears to be mid to late 20’s with a light complexion. No complainant, and nothing further. Need anyone to back?”

He looks over at Mattsun who mouths ‘what the fuck?!’ before responding “I’ll check it out first and let you know.”

“10-4!” Yahaba replies as the call pops onto his screen. It’s in the sticks, the road listed is only a road in the broadest sense of the word. It’s essentially a dirt path that stays flat because it's used by tractors to haul produce and equipment all day.

“Well that seems like a shit show. You sure you don’t need backup?” Mattsun asks. “The only calls we get out there are always weird as hell and this one seem hinkier than most. The hinkiest.”

Hajime shrugs, “You can come if you want but I figure one of us should be here when the kids catch the corn field on fire. Besides, I bet I get out there and find nothing. The reason we get weird calls all the time is because Ms. Fuijima is paranoid as all get out and also probably legally blind.”

“She’s so sweet though. I’m in love with her cinnamon roll cookies. If you see her ask if she has any left.”

“Ask her yourself. And stop flirting with old ladies, please, respect yourself.”

The drive only takes 15 minutes, left onto the main road, right into a neighborhood, and straight until you hit the patch of dirt that serves as the road. It’s dark this far out, the streetlights stopped about a half-mile back, which is why even going slow, Hajime has to slam on his brakes when a figure appears in the middle of the roadway.

He’s male, mid to late 20’s, brown hair, hospital gown, and sitting in the middle of the dirt road looking directly into the headlights of Hajime’s vehicle. The man doesn’t move, doesn’t even seem startled or vaguely surprised which sets off all Hajime’s alarm bells.

Hajime quickly kills the lights and takes a split second to marvel at the specificity of whoever called this in because it was definitely not Ms. Fujima. As he steps out of his vehicle, he quickly keys up, “Eleven-oh-eight I’m just about to be out with a male matching the description.”

There’s a pause before, “...10-4. Do you need additional units?”

He’s walking now, the man still isn’t moving, and he replies “Honestly, not sure. I’ll keep you posted.”

He can feel his phone begin to buzz in his pocket, multiple text alerts that he’s positive are from the group chat absolutely blowing up, but he ignores it as the man finally looks up at him. His eyes are a bit glassy, something Hajime usually associates with drug use, but they track Hajime’s movements precisely and are tight at the corners. The man seems… afraid? On edge for sure. His hands are gripped around his knees, knuckles almost white, but he’s wearing a smile that would almost seem natural if not for his tense posture.

“Sir,” Hajime starts which immediately feels weird. Hajime pushes down the feeling and continues, “We’ve gotten a call concerning a suspicious person in the area matching your description. I’m going to ask you a few routine questions just so we’re on the same page, alright?”

The man huffs a breathy laugh and responds in a sing-song voice, “Was that the first question?”

“Yeah and here’s the second. What’s your name and date of birth?”

“Oikawa Tooru, July 20, 1994.” He rattles off like its muscle memory. Hajime quickly pulls out his notepad from his vest and scribbles down the information on a new page. When he looks back up, the man, Oikawa, is looking at him with an eyebrow raised.

Hajime ignores whatever that is and soldiers on. “Have you had any drugs or alcohol tonight?”

“Fuck,” The man says with feeling. Slowly, he lifts up a shaky hand to push back his bangs. “Would you believe me if I say I don’t know?”

Which would be a bullshit answer for a lot of people, but Hajime can’t help but think he means it. It’s the phrasing of it, the nervous gesture followed by a question to answer a question that somehow doesn’t feel like a deflection. “Yeah, I can believe that.” Hajime responds and hopes he doesn’t come off insincere. Because he can. He’s seen it before multiple times whether through mental illness, or the brain’s reaction to stress, or the effect of the drugs themself. “Question four: Do you have any weapons on you or any items that you think I should know about?”

Oikawa gestures to his whole self and says, “I have this gown. That’s it. I’ve checked. No pockets either.”

“Are you cold?” Hajime replies with an impulse that's been rattling around in the back of his head since laying eyes on the guy. He’s lanky, he’s got no bulk to him. It’s the middle of winter and while it’s not necessarily the coldest part of the country, it’s definitely not the warmest. The thing is he’s not shivering at all. His bare legs are pressed against the ground that will be partially frozen give or take a few hours, and he’s just not reacting.

Oikawa laughs again, trilly and high pitched before saying, “Is that one of your routine questions?”

“No. It’s just, I have a jacket in my vehicle. It’s a rain jacket so it doesn’t have a ton of padding but it’s still more substantial than a hospital gown.” And somehow he’s over explaining a jacket. Maybe he should have had Matsukawa as backup just to smack him across the head for word vomiting.

There’s a moment where Oikawa just stares at him. It’s unreadable and probing and Hajime would probably be taken aback in any other situation than the one they are in. But, this is his job. He won’t say he isn’t unsettled because that would be a down-right lie, but he’s dealt with weirder shit than this and he’s not the type to be easily intimidated. So he just stares back.

And then Oikawa laughs again, longer this time, almost doubling over before responding, “You’re cute and I am freezing. It’s very cold out here and I would love to borrow your jacket, officer.”

“On it,” Hajime replies for lack of anything else to say. He turns around and walks back to his car, recognizing the fact that he is already in unfamiliar territory and has just begun the interaction. Something about this is giving him a weird sense of vertigo, a slight tilt in his small town tried-and-true axis that threatens to throw him off completely, but he just can’t help it. 

He’s had people flirt with him on duty before, but that's not what this is. At least he thinks. Usually they flirt because they want something, but Hajime had offered the jacket first. Where does that put him?

When he comes back, jacket in hand, Oikawa is standing and Hajime realizes just how lanky this man is. He’s tall, just about as tall as Makki, but he is absolutely swimming in the gown. His wrists are bony and knees knobby and Hajime’s mother-hen instincts kick in at light speed. When was the last time he ate? How long has he been sitting on this dirt road in the cold? Where the hell is his home because it's certainly not anywhere in Hajime’s jurisdiction.

Hajime manages to reign it in and simply say, “Here.” as he holds out the jacket.

“So eloquent,” Oikawa replies as he quickly puts it on. Somehow the jacket looks too big for him too which shouldn’t be right because Hajime is definitely not that tall. It’s a little too broad in the shoulders, but comes up a little too short at his wrists which is extraordinarily charming and also a weird thing to think about a victim so Hajime files that one away into a ‘FOR LATER’ bin and continues.

“So,” He starts off strong. “Do you have a current address that I can get you back too? Or maybe a phone number of someone nearby who can take you in?”

Oikawa laughs again, all breath and no substance, before replying, “Hmm, can I be honest with you for a second Officer…” His eyes fick to Hajime’s name tag, “Iwaizumi. Officer Iwa-chan-”

“No.”

The laugh this time is a surprise for both of them it seems. Its a sudden burst from the chest before being quickly swallowed down and replaced by a wide grin. Oikawa regains himself without a second thought and replies “No? So I can’t be honest with you?”

He’s teasing and they both know it, but Hajime has never had much tolerance for being toyed with. There’s something going on here, and Hajime needs to know. “Can you tell me where you are right now?”

“I’m here on this dirt road with you Officer Iwa-chan!” He’s fishing for a reaction now, not even trying to hide the fact that he’s dodging the questions.

Hajime inhales slowly and tries again, “What is the name of the town you’re in?”

For the first time, Oikawa’s smile falters. He’s quiet for a bit, face shifting from playful to withdrawn to thoughtful before he finally responds, “Taiwa?”

“No.” They’re north of that, still in Miyagi though on the outskirts. “What is today’s date?”

He goes quiet again. Hajime can see his mouth pulling, biting at the inside of his cheek before he answers, “New Year's Day of 2019?”

“No.” He’s a year off exactly. Hajime breathes in deep and exhales slowly from his nose. “Alright, I need you to tell me what happened. How did you end up here?”

He gives a close-lipped smile that doesn’t reach his eyes at all. A few seconds pass as he stares off into nothing before his eyes trail back to meet Hajime’s. “It’s not-” He says out of nowhere. “You won’t believe me. I wouldn’t even believe me and that's saying a lot.”

The thing is, Hajime has heard this spiel before. He’s heard every type of bullshit response under the sun, it comes with the territory of being a cop. But. Hajime has alway been one to trust his instincts. Oikawa is hiding something sure, but he seems scared of it, scared of where he is, scared that he doesn’t even know the date or time, if he’s been drugged or not.

He’s scared and doing his best to try and hide it. Hajime suddenly needs to know why.

So, Hajime rolls out his shoulders and takes the leap. “Alright. I want to hear what you’ve got to say, even the parts you think I won’t believe, but I figure here isn’t the best place for that. At least at our office we have heat and probably some spare clothes.” Hajime knows Mattsun keeps spares in his locker which will probably cost him a favor to use, but Hajime isn’t too pressed. Mattsun owes him more than he even kept track of. “If you want, I can take you to our office and get a statement, you can use the phone to call whoever. If you don’t want, I can give you a ride to wherever you need to go.” He pauses, “Within reason.” 

Oikawa is giving him the look again, the unsettling one that seems to look right through Hajime. His eyes are intense even in the low light and Hajime gets the weird sense that he would probably be a kickass lawyer.

And then, without warning, he smiles. It’s just the slightest upward pull on the right corner of his mouth, but Hajime would bet it’s the most genuine expression he’s seen yet. “Yeah.” He says, looping his thumbs in the pockets of Hajime’s jacket. “I’ll go to your office, though I’m hungry now too.” He’s pouting now, more of an exaggerated downward pull of his mouth than anything else. “Is anything even open in this town? I want milk bread.”

Hajime refrains from reminding him that he doesn’t actually know what town he’s in and says, “We’ve got a stove, a pot, and some ramen. I know one convenience store that’s still open, but they’re right downtown so I bet they’re swamped.” 

“Ramen works. I don’t think I’m dressed enough to walk into a store. The children would be scandalized,” He replies as he rocks back onto his heels. He hops from foot to foot just a bit and Hajime can see goosebumps on his lower legs. “Well Officer Iwa-chan, should we be going?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Hajime unlocks his vehicle and walks toward it, letting Oikawa lead the way. As he reaches the vehicle, he cranks up the heater before going over the air, “Eleven-oh-eight, I’m voluntarily transporting one male to the office.”

There’s a heavy pause which Hajime knows is Yahaba’s way of saying ‘??????’. “....Ten-four?” Is what he actually says though it’s drawn out into an almost question. Hajime’s phone starts buzzing in his pocket again, but he doesn’t reach for it. If they really need him for anything other than gossip they’ll call.

Oikawa settles into the back seat with no complaint, and that’s one small relief Hajime supposes. The drive isn’t long, but Hajime still feels the need to ask, “What do you want to listen to? I’ve got Spotify so most things are fair game.”

There’s a long pause from the backseat, and Hajime thinks he might not answer, until Oikawa says, “Iwa-chan, play Carly Rae Jepsen’s newest album.”

“I’m not an Alexa but I’m gonna do it anyway because I’m nice or something.” He’s not ashamed to admit that Dedicated is saved to his music library but Hajime won’t volunteer that information. Still, he pulls up the album, taps the first track, and waits.

It doesn’t get the intended reaction. “Holy shit.” Oikawa says from the backseat. “This is… no. What the fuck is my life right now. Is this real? Wait,” He pauses again, raking a hand through his already disheveled hair. “Officer Iwa-chan, I don’t believe you ever told me what day it is.”

“To be fair, you never asked. It’s just past midnight on New Years of 2020.”

Wide brown eyes meet his in the rearview mirror. Hajime can see with certainty that Oikawa is panicking. He’s gripping the strap of the seat belt, his knuckles turning white with the force and it may be the most honest expression Hajime has seen him make. “Fuck,” Oikawa says with emphasis. “Seriously?” Hajime doesn’t answer. Oikawa tips his head back to look at the ceiling and takes in shallow breaths. “As an Officer of the Law you have to tell me the truth right? Like, if you lie to me that’s entrapment.”

“I’m not lying to you.” Hajime responds evenly. “It’s currently 12:42 on January 1st of 2020. Right now you’re in Kami in the Miyagi Prefecture.”

Oikawa keeps his head tilted back. He brings his hand up to his face and rubs his knuckles against his closed eyes. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He says, almost a mantra. “Fuck! You said we’re in Kami? What the hell. Thats...” He trails off, letting his hands relax and slowly drop into his lap.

A heavy silence falls over the car for a moment. Iwaizumi doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know if it would help to say anything at all, but before he can attempt to fumble through some meaningless quip, Oikawa says, “Do I have to give a statement or can I just use the phone.”

It doesn’t sound like a question, though that’s certainly how it’s phrased. “You don’t have to give a statement, though it would help me to know what happened to you. You’re not detained or under arrest so the phone is fair game. I just want to know if there is anything I can do to help.”

And then, against all odds, Oikawa smiles just the slightest bit. “My savior,” He coos, head still turned toward the ceiling. “My knight in shining armor. My gruff small town cop ready to save the day, what would I do without you?”

“Die from exposure,” Hajime mutters on instinct. Immediately, he metally berates himself because he has no place talking to a victim like that, but from the back seat, Oikawa starts laughing.

“Harsh Officer Iwa-chan!” He says, still laughing. “I’m very charming and would surely be adopted by one of the local grandmothers who can’t say no to someone in need. If not for you I would be well fed and warm and smothered in small town hospitality right about now.”

Hajime makes a considering sound at the back of his throat. “Well, if you really want I can drop you back off. Ms. Fujima’s house was right down the road, though she is mostly blind and paranoid. Last person who she thought was breaking in got a cane to the face.”

“That’s okay. Two out of three isn’t a bad start, and you’re about to make me some ramen right? We’ll get there eventually.” Oikawa is grinning widely now. His hands are laced in his lap, fingers twisting together restlessly, but the hard line of tension is gone from his shoulders.

The rest of the short ride passes almost peacefully and by the time they pull into the office parking lot, Oikawa has shifted from looking at the ceiling to looking out the window. He’s been actively watching the scenery around him, craning his head to see certain things, following the path of the roads.

Hajime puts his vehicle in park and keys up again, “Eleven-oh-eight I’m 23 at the office.”

“Time is 00:58.” Yahaba responds evenly. He’s barely unbuckled his seat belt before his phone starts ringing this time. He’s expecting the call to be from Mattsun or Makki and is only vaguely surprised to see that it’s Yahaba. 

Hajime sighs briefly before answering the phone, “What.”

“I waited until I knew you weren’t driving to ask you what the fuck is happening right now. There was really some guy out in the middle of nowhere in a hospital gown? And now he’s with you? Voluntarily?!? Would it kill you to answer a single text???” Yahaba rants with increasing volume.

“It might,” Hajime interjects. “Listen I’ll fill you in later, just gimme a bit yeah? I just pulled in and I’m still trying to figure this whole shit show out myself.”

“‘A bit’ better not be more than an hour because that’s when I’m calling you for your next check in.” Yahaba sighs heavily through the phone. “And just to settle my own nerves can you send me your guy’s info so I can run it? And make sure he’s not a serial killer or something? Or like fleeing the country? Please?”

Hajime pulls out the notepad from his vest and flips to where he’s written Oikawa’s info. “I’ll text it to you. Talk to you in an hour I guess.”

“You guess?” Yahaba responds. “No, you know. I will call you. That is a threat. Be safe, make good choices, and keep me updated.”

“Will do,” Hajime replies before the line goes dead. Quickly, he shoots off a text with Oikawa’s info and shoves the phone back into his pocket. When he looks in the rearview mirror to check on Oikawa, he finds the man is staring at him intently, his face focused and serious. Hajime just raises an eyebrow and says, “You ready?”

Oikawa grins at him in the mirror. “Ready as ever!” He scoots over to the door and hops to his feet when Hajime opens the door. “Was your friend checking on you? I heard your phone going off earlier too, do they have so little faith in you? Or do they wanna know more about me?” He leans in at the last part, his grin turning sharp at the corners.

“Maybe I’m just a popular guy,” Hajime replies noncommittally. He keeps walking toward the station, using his key card to open the door that he holds open for Oikawa.

Oikawa walks in like he owns the place. “I don’t believe for a second that you’re popular with anyone other than the small town grandmas like the fabled Ms. Fujima.” He keeps striding forward until the hallway branches off and it’s clear he doesn’t know where he’s going. He turns on his heel to face Hajime and gives an expectant look. “Are you coming?”

Hajime snorts under his breath. “Yeah, yeah on my way.” He walks a little quicker, just to the left side of OIkawa so he can guide without appearing to when his phone starts going off again. Hajime waits to pick up until Oikawa gets into the break room. When he picks up his phone, he sees its Yahaba and quickly hits accept.

Yahaba starts talking before Hajime can say anything, “Oikawa Tooru? Are you kidding me? He’s from Sendai and he’s been missing for almost a year exactly. He was last seen in Taiwa on a scientific survey on New Years Eve of last year and then he just never came back. Like disappeared. Footprints leading to the scene but not away from it, no records from his phone or credit cards, no sightings in the area, just gone. Your guy matches the description, his birthday is the same, and just. Iwaizumi. What the hell.”

A memory sparks in the back of Hajime’s mind. A graduate student at Tohoku University, posters of a similar looking man in the bullpen, they’re close enough to Taiwa that it would make sense, though Hajime hasn’t thought about that in months. Hajime ducks behind a neighboring wall as he says, “Was anything recovered from where he went missing?”

“A telescope and some field notes,” Yahaba responds. “There isn’t any info as to what those field notes were because the Taiwa Missing Persons Detective is useless apparently, but that’s it.”

“Do they still have them in evidence? You think I can get them released somehow?’

“Hold on.” Yahaba replies. There’s a quick tapping of keys in the background before, “They were already released by the Detective to… uh looks like a ‘Nobuteru Irihata’? The telescope too. I can look him up if-”

“Naw, shit. It’s fine.” Hajime runs his free hand through his hair. “They really released his notes before they even found him? And there’s nothing about what they say?”

Yahaba sighs. “When I say useless, I mean it. Here’s a summary of the detective's narrative ‘At the scene there was a telescope, some notes, and a bag. No person though. I have no notes. Nothing further.”

“Wait, a bag? Did that get put into evidence?”

Some more tapping of keys, a pause, tap tap tap, then “You know what? It didn’t. The bag was mentioned once by the detective, and once by the responding Officer, but then never again. There’s no detail on it either. Nothing about the contents. Iwaizumi, who the fuck is this guy?”

Hajime is wondering the same thing. He takes a breath, evaluates, and makes a big move, “Don’t contact Taiwa for now. I know that’s kind of fucked, but also something is going on. I’m not under the delusion that I’ll figure it out by myself, but like right now it’s just me and him, you know? I want to get more information from him before other agencies start getting involved.”

“Iwaizumi. You owe me so so much. I just ran this guy through our system and local municipalities and didn’t go to the whole prefecture. You’ll be good for a bit, but if they want to, Taiwa can definitely see that I did a search through their shit.” Another tapping of keys. “I love you and I want no part in this. I’m going to call you again in a half hour.”

Hajime laughs lowly, “Love you too Shige. Don’t get too wound up.”

“Too late!” He hears before the line goes dead.

Hajime takes in a deep breath and drags a hand over his face. What. the. Fuck. It may be a serious mistake to not inform the Detective. He’s reconsidering it, Yahaba would do it if he asked, but this whole thing is hinky. To quote Mattsun it’s ‘the hinkiest’. The thing is, Hajime knows how to play it. It’s the middle of the night, most detectives work normal people hours and he would never disturb a small town detective in the middle of the night on New Years Day when the whole thing could wait til morning, right?

It’s not great but It would work if Hajime wasn’t such a bad liar. Shit, he doesn’t even know why he’s trying to play this. It’s mostly gut feeling at this point. Well, and the weird combination of shitty police reports, missing evidence, and his own sympathetic nature.

Fuck.

Hajime really doesn’t know what to do. He’ll give it a half hour, until Yahaba calls again, make some ramen for Oikawa, talk to him, try to figure shit out. Okay.

Okay.

Hajime steps around the corner into the break room and finds Oikawa rooting around through cabinets. He’s standing on tip-toes reaching up toward the top shelf where Hajime knows the hot pot is stored. There’s the small pot and a pack of ramen already set out on the counter as well as some soy sauce which is probably Makki’s.

Oikawa turns as Hajime enters, briefly making eye contact before continuing to go through the shelves. “You must work with some tall people Officer Iwa-chan because there is no good reason for the hot plate to be on the top shelf.”

It got put there by Mattsun to hide it from their day shift dispatcher Yachi who seems to set fires in her wake. Instead of formulating a proper response like a normal human, Hajime’s eyes fixate on the hem of the hospital gown that is now pulled up to mid-thigh as Oikawa stretches upward on his tip-toes. Hajime takes a breath, says, “Let me get you something to wear,” and he leaves again immediately heading toward the locker rooms.

God, Hajime is a train wreck. He pulls up texts from more than two years ago when Mattsun gave him his locker code because he thought he thought he left his radio on (he hadn’t) and somehow the combination still works. There’s gym clothes on the top shelf, so Hajime grabs a short-sleeve shirt and some sweatpants, locks up and heads back.

Oikawa is stirring whatever monstrosity is in the pot with a metal butter knife. God. Hajime sets the clothes on the table and says, “These should fit you. While you go change, I’m going to make sure there isn’t a chemical fire in this kitchen, yeah? The bathrooms are to the right, mens is the second door and women's is the first.”

Oikawa looks up from the steaming pot, grins, and takes the knife out of the water where noodles seem to cling to the metal. Oh god. He walks over and picks up the clothes, “Be right back Iwa-chan!” He replies, apparently deciding they’re close enough to drop titles.

Hajime waits until the footsteps recede before slumping down to rest the side of his face on the counter. Good. God. He really needs to get his shit together. He needs a game plan, or like a contingency plan, or any sort of plan beyond ‘make ramen, talk it out’.

Though he really isn’t given much time as the footsteps approach the breakroom. Hajime quickly chucks the knife in the sink and pulls out a wooden spoon from the utensil drawer so at least it looks like he did something other than reevaluate his life and his choices.

He’s at the fridge when Oikawa gets back pulling out a carton of eggs that he’s pretty sure Yahaba bought weeks ago from a gas station when he had a 2 A.M. craving for omelettes. “You want an egg in it? I usually put one in mine or else it’s not filling at all.” And then he turns to Oikawa which is necessary for conversation, but also apparently a mistake in the short term.

He’s got Hajime’s rain jacket zipped halfway with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows, and that really shouldn’t do it for Hajime, but apparently it does. Well, the mistake is less where Hajime is looking and more that Hajime is a sentient trash can with garbage for a brain because it's beyond inappropriate to think that Oikawa, a victim, looks hot in his clothes. People can be objectively attractive! Hajime needs to slam his head in a door!

Anyway.

“Sounds good to me! I can’t remember the last time I ate.” Oikawa sits down in one of the hard plastic chairs and straight up lounges. He hooks a foot around the chair next to him and scoots it closer so he can sprawl out across both of them. 

Which sounds so normal, but Hajime can’t tell if he’s being serious or making a joke. Maybe making a joke about the seriousness of his situation. Which is a way to cope for sure, one Hajime uses pretty frequently in fact.

Hajime turns back and finishes up the ramen, adding the egg, some soy sauce, strain it, shove it in a bowl, ta-da. He sets the bowl and some chopsticks in front of Oikawa with a soft ‘thunk’ against the plastic of the table. “Think you can talk while you eat? If you still want to, that is.”

“Of course I still want to eat Iwa-chan! I’ve never been so hungry in all my life.” He replies and fucking winks right at Hajime. GOD.

Somehow, Hajime manages to not roll his eyes as he pulls out his notepad. Looks like this is going to be a straightforward barrage of questions. No beating around the bush since it seems like Oikawa does enough of that for the both of them. Hajime takes a breath, clicks his pen, and gets to work. “Earlier, when we were in the car, what day did you think it was before I told you it’s New Years?”

“Hmmmm,” Oikawa hums around a big bite of noodles. He chews and swallows, making a big show of contemplating his answer, before responding, “Still New Years, just the wrong year.”

“What year?”

He shoves another huge bite into his mouth and makes exaggerated slurping noises the whole time. It’s actually a good thing, Hajime decides, because there’s absolutely nothing attractive about the way he’s getting broth all over the table. Oikawa finishes chewing, tips his head to the side and says, “Last year. 2019.”

Hajime nods and jots down the date ‘01/01/2019’. “Alright. When I found you, where did you think you were?”

“Oh, Officer Iwa-chan. Why are you asking questions that you already know the answer to? Get to the good stuff!” Oikawa raises his chopsticks in the air and clicks them together in impatience.

Which is fucking rich. Anyway. “Alright then, where in Taiwa? Did you have an exact location?”

And for some reason, that gets Oikawa to smile. It’s lopsided and wry and he leans in closer to Hajime, almost like he’s about to tell an inside joke. “38.41 latitude,140.82 longitude. More or less.”

Hajime stares. Oikawa is still smiling back at him, his grin only getting wider with Hajime’s confusion. And, well, Hajime knows when to cut his losses. He turns the notepad around and slides it over to Oikawa. “I’m leaving that one to you. I’m not a numbers guy.”

Oikawa laughs at that, bright and quick, as he writes down the coordinates on the paper. His handwriting is small and neat, all one size almost like a typewriter. He pauses once he finishes, “Do you want this back? Or should I just be the stenographer too?”

Hajime reaches across the table and snatches up the notepad. It gets Oikawa to laugh again, which he isn’t sure if he should be offended by or just appreciate the fact that the guy is finally relaxed enough to find something funny. Hajime is leaning toward the latter.

“So this spot, this very specific location. Why there?”

Oikawa leans in and rests his chin on his hands. “Now we’re getting somewhere.” He cups a hand around his mouth and drops his voice to a lower register as he continues, “That’s the last place I was before. I was. Taken. Ask me what’s there.”

Hajime refrains from reacting to his dramatics, fails to hide his surprise at the word ‘taken’, and does roll his eyes at the last request. “What’s there.”

“A beautiful mountain! Not even the mountain’s summit, just some service trail that leads to a nice little stream. Now, ask me what's there on New Years Eve.”

“What’s there on New Years Eve.”

“Lights.” Oikawa responds, his eyes wide and almost excited. “Sourceless lights. Sometimes a lot in all sizes and colors, sometimes just a few. They reflect off the water of the stream and bounce onto the trees like a disco ball. I’ve been a few times, I’m studying them as a sort of side project, but last year was different.” He pauses and looks at Hajime expectantly.

Hajime should have known this interview was never going to be on his terms. He sighs and complies, “Why was last year different.”

Oikawa grins, “Last year, I brought a telescope. I looked up instead of out, and well…” He trails off, grin turning brittle at the edges. “I guess I proved myself right.”

A telescope. “The lights come from the sky? From space?” Hajime says feeling a little foolish.

“Wow. I get it now. That really does sound stupid,” Oikawa says with a laugh. Hajime bristles, ready to snap back until he realizes that Oikawa’s tone is self-depreciative. He’s looking at the table now, idly trailing his chopsticks through the cooling ramen broth. “Yeah, from space. Something in space. Something, unidentifiable. An object for sure though, it was concrete, not abstract, and it hovered in the air, almost like flying, and-”

“No.” Hajime sets the pen down onto the table a little harder than he intended. “A UFO? Seriously?!” God. If Hajime felt foolish before, now he really feels like a big fucking idiot. He just sat there and let Oikawa spoon feed him bullshit and he played into it by asking all the leading questions.

He’s about to stand up and then, well, he hadn’t gotten that far yet, but then Oikawa curls into himself a bit. The arm not holding the chopsticks is wrapped around his middle and he’s still not looking Hajime in the eye. Oikawa snorts derisively, still smiling, and says, “Yeah. Seriously. I told you from the get-go that you wouldn’t believe me.”

Which, he did, didn’t he. Hajime looks him over critically and can’t find any sense of dishonesty. Some embarrassment definitely, a lot of caution and maybe even a bit of fear. And well, Hajime did say that he would hear him out. It’s going to be a hard story to believe, and he hasn’t even told it yet, but they won’t get anywhere if Hajime won’t even listen. Even if it didn’t happen like Oikawa thinks, even if it did, being dismissive from the start has never helped anyone.

So, carefully, Hajime sets aside his own ego and frustration, his own biases and limited understanding and asks, “What happened to you on New Years Eve of last year?”

Oikawa’s eyes snap up to his. They’re tight around the corners and are looking at Hajime just as critically as Hajime looked at him. He’s searching Hajime’s face, his posture, the placement of his arms, and after a long minute, Oikawa nods. He sets the chopsticks down, steeples his fingers together over the table and begins:

“Let me set the scene.” He clears his throat. “Alright. It was a clear night, good for stargazing. Probably just about as cold as this one. I got to my very special coordinates by about 10ish? The lights don’t usually start until later than that, but like I said, stargazing. I, uh, did that for a bit, and then around 11:30 the lights showed up.”

Oikawa fidgets a bit, lacing and unlacing his fingers as he talks. “They weren’t even as bright as I’ve seen them before. Most of them were white light, some more blue, and fuck I would be able to tell you more if I had my notebook. Anyway, I had a hunch and I had a telescope and so I looked up for once and saw, well a flying object that I couldn’t identify.” He’s picking at a divot in the plastic table now, slowly widening the dent.

“I sketched it out in my notebook, fuck. It wasn’t even good my hands were too shaky. I kept looking, then sketching, then looking again until I couldn’t see anything but white.” He pauses and laughs, quick without any humor. “It took me a bit too long to figure out why. I was so absorbed on figuring out what it was that I didn’t realize the lights had stopped moving to center on me. On the telescope. Fuck. Shit, I was scared out of my mind.”

He takes in a shaky breath, reaching up to scrub a hand over his face. “And from there it’s kind of anti-climactic. Everything got really bright for a second, and then nothing. I got fucking abducted by aliens and I don’t even remember it. One second I was on the mountain and the next I was on a dirt road in Kami lying on my back in a hospital gown apparently a full year later. Shit! I don’t even know if it was aliens! Maybe it was a really small really far away government drone that, like used infrared beams to fry my brain and I’m actually in a coma! I don’t know! I feel insane!”

Oikawa stands up suddenly, the chair squeaking against the linoleum, and he starts to pace. He’s got one hand in his hair tugging restlessly, the other is tucked into the pocket of Hajime’s rain jacket. He’s back to not looking at Hajime, focusing on his feet, the chair, the now cold ramen as he paces back and forth, metaphorically wearing a hole into the tile.

Hajime takes the nervous energy in the room, condenses it into a ball, and buries it deep inside his stomach. In response to Oikawa’s pacing, he stills, his mind quieting and processing the whole situation. It’s not as hard to believe as he initially thought, not when Oikawa is obviously just as confused and infinitely more frustrated. And, well, the pieces he’s been given are weirdly consistent, Taiwa, New Years 2019, the telescope and, oh.

“Would having your notes help?” Hajime asks.

Immediately, Oikawa stops and turns toward him. “So very much. I kept a log of everything that night, all of it was time stamped too. There’s even that stupid awful sketch of the, the thing. The UFO I guess.” Oikawa sits back down and looks blankly at Hajime for a long time. “If you have it, if you looked at it and knew all this time, I’m going to lose my shit.”

“No, what?” Hajime says, genuinely taken aback. “No, I just know where it is. Or well I know who has it, who it got released to. It was to, uhh, Nobuteru Irihata-”

“Oh thank god,” Oikawa says, letting his upper body slump onto the table. “For a split second I thought you were going to say Ushijima and then I would have to do something drastic like commit arson or become a cat burglar.”

“You know I am a cop right? I am a sworn Officer of the Law and arson is illegal.”

“I did say it was drastic,” Oikawa mumbles into the table. “I’m not gonna do it, just know that I would if I had to. Wait-” He sits up suddenly, “How do you know where my notes are? Do you know where the rest of my stuff is?”

“Our dispatcher looked into it earlier. Seems like your telescope and notes got released to Irihata.”

Oikawa nods slowly. He’s back to picking at the table, his long fingers making quick work of the plastic. “Alright, that’s fine I guess. What about my backpack? My laptop was in there, did that go to Irihata too?”

And there is it. Hajime was waiting for it. Shit. “Your bag and its contents weren’t taken as evidence. It was at the scene with your other stuff, but that’s really all I got.”

There’s a heavy pause as Oikawa just stares at him. “What do you mea-”

He’s cut off by Hajime’s phone ringing which is either the best or worst timing. Hajime knows it’s Yahaba, knows that if he doesn’t answer he’ll get called out over the air, so he lets out a frustrated huff before picking up. “Shige, I’m a little busy right now. Call you back later?”

“NO! Iwaizumi I know I said I wanted no part in this, but I’m nosy by nature and found some shit out. It’s a lot, and it’s pretty involved. You have paper and pen?”

“I do,” Hajime responds. He looks at his notes, still just the date and the coordinates Oikawa wrote, and looks back at Oikawa and considers. God, this is dumb, but Hajime has always been one to trust his gut which is why he says, “Hey Shige, would it be best to just put you on speaker?”

A pause as Oikawa straightens up now fully paying attention, and then, “So Oikawa can hear too? Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Not sure. I’m legitimately asking you, do you think it would be best? I can’t see the benefit in hiding all this shit just for it to come out later, but right now I don’t know all the information like you do.”

Another pause, longer this time. Oikawa has started frantically nodding and scream-whispering ‘Put him on speaker!!!!!’. Hajime hears the crackle of Yahaba taking a deep breath before, “You know what? Sure. Put me on speaker. Maybe he’ll know more of what is going on. If there’s something that I think he shouldn’t hear, I just won’t say it, yeah?”

“Yeah.” So, Hajime hits the speaker button and sets the phone on the table.

Immediately Oikawa starts talking, “Yahoo, Shige-chan! Are you the friendly dispatcher who tracked down my stuff?”

“I- what? Yes? Shige-chan? I mean, yeah I, that’s me. I did that.”

Oikawa mouths ‘He’s cute!’ to Hajime before continuing, “Wonderful. Did you happen to find anything about my backpack and the contents therein contained?”

“That’s actually part of the whole thing. Uh, it would make more sense to start with the report though.”

“Ah, you already have a plan! Well then please, don’t let me distract you.” Oikawa says as he leans forward to rest his chin on his hands.

Hajime motions to get his attention and mouths, ‘Be nice’.

Oikawa widens his eyes and points to himself in the universal ‘who, me???’ motion. Hajime rolls his eyes.

“Umm okay then.” Yahaba starts. There’s a quick tapping of keys and then, “So, the assigned missing persons Detective with the useless narrative wasn’t the originally assigned detective. Looks like the case got reassigned about ten months ago to a newly promoted Detective who didn’t have any idea what was going on. The first Detective has a narrative written, but it’s restricted so I can’t get to it which is shady as hell.”

“Also, the first Detective retired when the case got reassigned even though he was only on for fifteen years. But, I looked him up and he’s currently working as a Federal Investigator as of exactly ten months ago.”

Hajime and Oikawa share a look over the table. “Shit.” Oikawa says with feeling.

“Yeah,” Yahaba replies. “As for the bag, I found crime scene photos that show the bag initially, and then it disappears. It’s a black backpack right? With some patches on it?”

Oikawa nods, and then quickly realizes that Yahaba can’t see him. “Yeah, my fucking Sailor Moon patch.”

“It’s there, sitting right next to the telescope, but then there’s a big gap in the timestamps of the photos, almost three hours, and then in the next picture the bag is gone.”

There’s silence for a second as they process the information. Oikawa is staring blankly at Hajime, clearly not really seeing anything at all.

Yahaba continues, “And then, last thing I promise, the notebook that was recovered from the scene was blank. They flipped through it in the photos before the timeskip and there's nothing in it, the reporting Officer even called it an ‘empty journal’.”

Oikawa stands so suddenly that his chair tips over. He turns on his heel and in two long strides, he’s out the door, hooking a right into the hallway.

“What was that noise?” Yahaba asks.

“Oikawa stormed off. Fuck.” Hajime picks up the phone, turns off the speaker and puts it back to his ear. “Shige are you going to be good? You’re not gonna get heat for looking into this right?”

“I mean, I didn’t really poke too hard, I specifically made sure not to. All of it was information that was readily accessible to me, and it’s not like it's strange to look into the guy who shows up out of nowhere in the middle of the night. I’m more worried about you.”

Yeah, Hajime is too. “I’ll be good. Probably. Shit. I just gotta figure out what to do next.”

Yahaba hums over the phone, “Well first off, why don’t you figure out where Oikawa went before he gets whisked away into the ether again.”

It’s a joke, but considering the circumstances, well, it isn’t really. God, what a mess.

“Alright, I’m heading out Shige. Just, don’t tell anyone yet, including Makki and Mattsun even though I know they’ve been bugging you.”

“Aye aye captain.” Yahaba replies. “My lips are sealed, now go get your man.”

Hajime hangs up, and then does just that. There are limited places he could be in the building, and well there’s only one other spot he’s been other than the break room. So, Hajime hangs a right in the hallway and heads into the men’s bathroom.

There are only two stalls, one open, the other closed. Hajime walks up to the closed stall door and knocks.

“Occu-pied!” Oikawa sing-songs from the other side.

Hajime pauses, unsure of how to approach this. He thinks for a second about what he would want if their situations were reversed, and says, “If you need a second, there’s a better place for it than a bathroom stall. We have an empty office down the hall where a bunch of old armchairs are stored. It’s been kind of turned into a decompression room for when shit just gets too big to handle.”

No response. Which, fair.

“Alright, here is fine too. I can reheat your ramen if you’re still hungry. We have some water bottles in the fridge too if you-”

“I really really REALLY don’t want reheated ramen right now.” Oikawa says from inside the stall and Hajime is slightly horrified to hear it followed by a wet sounding sniffle. “I don’t want to go into your armchair rage room, or back into that dinky little kitchen area, and I definitely don’t want to sit on this gross toilet in a police station in fucking Kami.”

Silence, and Hajime can almost picture Oikawa’s expectant expression from before, waiting for him to ask the right question.

So, Hajime sighs, rests his forehead on the stall door and says, “What do you want?”

“I want to go home!” Oikawa hiccups around a sob. Hajime closes his eyes. “I want my year back. I missed my graduation, I was supposed to present my thesis in April and now all my research is probably with the feds?! And how the fuck was my notebook empty?!? This doesn’t make any sense what the hell.” Another muffled sniffle, a pause, and then he continues softer, “God. My sister was pregnant, she was due in July, right around my birthday. I don’t even know if I have a niece or nephew.”

Hajime steadies his breathing, four counts in, four counts out. “I can get you home. You’re from Sendai right? I can get you there tonight if you want.”

More silence interspersed with wet sniffling. And then Oikawa laughs. It’s fake and brittle, and Hajime feels a weird ‘zing’ of… something at the back of his brain. The urge to protect and comfort, maybe. The compulsion to open the stall door and hug Oikawa which, wow. Really not cool right now.

His laugh tapers off as he says, “I don’t even know where home is right now. I’m assuming my apartment is a no-go, I don’t even know what they did with my stuff. How much do you want to bet that all my research notes from my apartment are inconspicuously missing?” Oikawa takes a deep breath in, and releases it all at once. “I guess, I could go to my parent’s place, or my sister’s.”

“Wherever you want.” Hajime says and means it. “Just give me an address and I’ll get you there.”

Oikawa hums. “Wherever I want? What if I want to go to Ikea? Or your place, or back to the mountain where I got beamed up by little green men?”

Hajime huffs out a short laugh that is mostly warm air against the stall door. “The last one is inadvisable. My place is pretty messy, but I have a spare room if you really need it. And, I don’t think Ikea is open right now.”

There’s a shuffling from inside the stall, the metallic clink of the toilet paper dispenser, some more muffled sniffles, and then the stall door opens.

Hajime pitches forward from where he was leaning on the door and a hand shoots out to steady him. When he looks up, Oikawa’s face is close, closer than it’s been all night. Oikawa’s eyes are red-rimmed and watery, his nose is rubbed pink and it really shouldn’t be cute, but, well.

“Sorry,” Hajime says as he takes a big step back. He can feel heat at the tips of his ears.

Oikawa smiles at that, a little wobbly at the edges but seemingly genuine. “Officer Iwa-chan, there’s no need to apologize for falling for me.”

Dear Lord. Hajime doesn’t know what his face is doing, but his brain is currently some weird mix of charmed, embarrassed, and indignant. Instead of providing a response, his mind is currently screaming ‘Does he know?!?’, which is a bit ridiculous and a lot dramatic because Hajime is attracted to him, sure, but like they’ve just met. Hajime doesn’t know anything about him. Oikawa is going through probably the worst night of his life. Chill out.

So, with no response available, Hajime just steps further back out of the way of the stall door. Oikawa is looking at him funny, one eyebrow raised and then he just. Closes the distance, steps forward until they’re sharing space again.

There’s a little freckle at the corner of his left eye. He has very faint acne scars along his cheeks and unbelievably long eye lashes. He’s really pretty, Hajime knows but now he can see. His straight nose, his rosebud mouth, his intelligent warm brown eyes.

It only lasts a second, and then Oikawa pulls away stepping back toward the door to the hallway. His smile is wider now, more pleased than sad, and he says, “You really are cute.”

Hajime is only given a moment to think ‘????!!?!?’ before Oikawa is talking again. “I’ve made a decision,” He says with an air of put-upon grandiosity. “I would like to go to my parent’s house. It’s in Aoba and I know the address by heart.”

“Alright,” Hajime responds, thankful that there’s a plan finally. “You want to leave asap?”

“I would love that so very much. No offense to you or small towns, but I don’t want to be in Kami any longer than I have to.”

“Noted.” Hajime walks out of the bathroom and back toward the breakroom down the hall. He dumps the rest of the ramen, rinses out the bowl and leaves it and the chopsticks in the sink. A problem for future Hajime. When he turns, Oikawa is leaning against the door frame just watching him. He doesn’t say anything though, so Hajime continues toward the fridge and pulls out two water bottles.

He sets them down on the counter and pulls out his phone. There are 46 texts from his group chat with Mattsun and Makki, the most recent being a series of question marks and alien face emojis. Again, a problem for future Hajime. Instead he calls Yahaba.

Yahaba picks up immediately and starts chanting, “Update! Update! Update!”

Hajime laughs. “It’s not as exciting as you’re probably expecting. I’m going to drive him home and I just wanted to let you know before I go M.I.A. for the next, uh,” He turns to Oikawa, “Hey how far is Aoba from here?”

“An hour, give or take.” He responds, still leaning on the door frame which feels more familiar than it should.

Hajime turns back to the phone, “Two plus hours. Nothing big is happening right?”

“Nothing that the goon squad can’t handle, but Iwaizumi. Did you just do the whole ‘pull away while on the phone to talk to someone in the room with you’ thing??? Do you know how cute that is? Do you have a soft spot for this mystery man?”

Hajime almost drops the phone. “I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. You’re just another target, mark my fucking words.”

Yahaba laughs loudly from the other side of the phone. “Holy shit Iwaizumi I’m so happy I got to be here to not only confirm your crush on the spaceman, but also hear you meme. Makki is gonna cry.”

“Nothing is confirmed other than my 300 plus kills. I’m going to leave now. Put me out of service or something I don’t know.”

“Okie-dokie! Live in that denial for the rest of the night! Love you Iwaizumi!”

“Yeah, love you too asshole.” Hajime says as he hangs up. Jeez. What did he do to deserve meddlers in his life?

He grabs the water bottles and turns back to Oikawa who’s mouth is in a lopsided grin. “Was that Shige-chan?”

“Please never stop calling him that, and yeah it was.” Hajime holds out a water bottle to Oikawa who takes it immediately. “You about ready to go? There’s just a couple more things to do and then we can head out.”

Oikawa doesn’t move or respond, just looks at him for a bit. “You two seem close.” He says finally, his eyes narrowed just the slightest bit.

“Uh, yeah?” And Hajime doesn’t know why it comes out like a question. “We’ve been friends since high school.”

Oikawa stands up straight in the doorway, and wow. He’s definitely taller than Hajime, not as broad, but he’s got that height for days. “What a wonderful friendship.” He says with a pinched smile that Hajime can’t quite read. “Well Iwa-chan, I’m at your disposal. What else is on the agenda?”

“Not much honestly. I mostly wanted to talk to you real quick, just to let you know what’s gonna happen after this.” Oikawa’s shoulders tense at this, but Hajime keeps going. “I’m going to need a written statement from you, but you can write whatever details you want and leave out whatever you don’t. I’ll just roll with what you put. You can do that now or in the car, whatever you want.”

“Also,” Hajime rocks back onto his heels slightly. “Well, I have to contact the Detective in Taiwa. It’ll look real shady if I don’t. In the morning though, I doubt he would respond if I tried right now. But it’s his case, and he’s going to want to follow up with you. The main problem is I’m still not sure what all comes with that. It’s well, something is going on and it’s hard to know what exactly that is.” 

Hajime exhales sharply and steels himself for this next bit. “I just, want you to know that if it all goes to shit, or people start trying to, I don’t know, abuse your legal rights. Or if you just need help, I’ll be here. We don’t have a ton of resources, definitely not federal level, but Yahaba is nosey as hell and I can look really intimidating if I want to and just, it’s on the table.” He finishes lamely.

Oikawa stares at him, wide eyed for a second before smiling slowly at first, then so hard his eyes squint shut. He lifts a hand to cover his face and says under his breath, “God I hope I’m not reading this wrong.” When he pulls his hand away, he’s still smiling toothy and wide. “My Iwa-chan, my small town hero. I would be lost without you.” And then he leans in and presses a quick kiss to Hajime’s cheek.

Oikawa has turned away before Hajime can properly react. His reaction which is, apparently, to support all his weight on the door frame that Oikawa was just leaning on because he’s pretty sure his legs turned into a bunch of wriggling worms. Okay. Alright. Just a kiss on the cheek. Just a totally normal thing for two adults to do. Yes.

“Iwa-chaaaan,” Oikawa calls from down the hall. “Hurry up! I’ll fill out my statement in the car and I want to listen to Carly Rae Jepsen on the way!”

Right. Driving. All the way to Aoba. Christ.

They make it out to the car and Hajime starts clearing his gear from the front passenger’s seat. He’s tossing it in the back, clearing away any remaining grit from extended disuse, when Oikawa says, “Oh.”

Hajime looks up to see Oikawa standing with his hand on the door handle to the back of the vehicle. “Oh,” He says again, letting his hand fall to his side as he walks forward. “Isn’t that, like, a breach of protocol?”

“The front is more comfortable, and it’ll be easier to talk to you this way,” Hajime pauses, thinks for a second, and hurriedly says, “Unless you feel better sitting in the back? Shit, sorry, I just kind of assumed-”

Oikawa laughs, the short quick one that Hajime has come to categorize as ‘disbelievingly fond’. “If I had the choice, I would never sit in the back of a cop car ever again. The seats are hard as rocks and I’m sure it’s not hygienic,” He says as he slips into the front seat.

Hajime walks around to the drivers side. “If you had the choice? You’re not actually planning on becoming a cat burglar right?”

“Hmmm this really does feel like entrapment, Officer. I know my rights! I’m not speaking without a lawyer present.”

Which gets Hajime to roll his eyes hard enough that Oikawa giggle-snorts in reply. It’s not a laugh he’s heard up til now, and Hajime doesn’t know if it’s weird for him to recognize that, to have a running list of Oikawa’s expressions, but, well it’s there and at this point he doesn’t know how to get rid of it. Instead of responding, Hajime just pulls out a clipboard and a statement sheet and hands them to Oikawa. “Here, write what you want, just sign at the bottom when you’re done.”

And then, they drive. Oikawa gives him the address and insists that he play Dedication from the first song in order without skipping anything. He writes as Hajime drives, occasionally asking questions about certain wording, if he should include the ramen (which gets another eye roll), how to spell Shige-chan (which gets a ‘DO NOT.’ from Hajime and a breathy laugh from Oikawa). 

They listened to Dedicated one time through, then went back to listen to favorite tracks with Oikawa running a critique the whole time. Somehow, their opinions match for the most part, and they’re in the middle of talking about whether or not ‘I’ll Be You Girl’ fits with the rest of the album or not, when they pull up in front of a single-story house in the middle of a residential district.

Hajime parks, kills the engine, but neither of them move. The atmosphere feels strangely fragile, like opening the car door would pop the strange comfortable bubble they’ve found themselves in. But, Oikawa is home, finally, and Hajime has to act, to do anything. He goes to speak, but Oikawa gets there first.

“What’s your number?” He says, looking forward at the street light ahead.

It gets Hajime to freeze, wondering if he heard right (he knows he did), and then wondering if it means what he wants it to (it can’t though, right?). He’s spurred into action when Oikawa looks at him with almost an air of impatience and starts making grabby hands in his direction.

For some reason, Hajime laughs at that and some of the nerves dissipate. He fishes out his notepad, the same one with the date and the coordinates and writes his number on a blank page.

Oikawa snags it out of his hand and looks at it carefully. “This is your personal number right? If I call this and Shige-chan answers I’m going to drive all the way back out to Kami to personally kick your butt.”

“Yeah that’s my personal number. I make no promises about Shige not answering though. I have a tendency to leave my phone around the office and he’s a known meddler.” Hajime replies and he knows he’s smiling. He can’t really help it.

Oikawa just huffs and tucks the paper into the jacket pocket. There’s a grin playing at his lips, like he can’t really help it either. Hajime feels floaty, his lungs replaced with Helium and light.

“Good,” Oikawa huffs and turns to face forward. “I’ll need to return your jacket eventually, and well. I really want to ask you out for coffee or dinner, but I know better than to flirt while you’re on the clock.”

The floaty feeling expands from his chest out to his arms, the tips of his fingers, the bottoms of his feet. “Do you though?” Hajime asks and laughs at the irritated glare Oikawa shoots his way. There’s still a smile at the corner of his mouth which makes Hajime feel brave, or reckless, hard to tell, which is why he responds, “I really want to say yes, but well, you haven’t technically asked yet. So I guess that can wait.” 

Oikawa looks down at his lap and Hajime can see him biting the inside of his cheek, mouth still turned into a half-smile. “I guess it can.” He replies. “For now though, I-” He huffs and turns to look at Hajime, “Well, is it weird to admit I’m super nervous about going inside? It’s just my parents. I just don’t know how to- shit. I’m not sure what I’m trying to say.”

“Do you want me to go in with you?” Hajime ventures. “It might help to have me explain things with you so it doesn’t look like you showed up on their doorstep in the middle of the night out of nowhere.”

“Yes.” Oikawa sighs and smiles for real now. “I think i need that. I just- hey.” He reaches over and places a hand on Hajime’s arm. “Thank you. Today weirdly didn't suck? Like this could have been the worst day of my life but it's not. Mostly because of you.”

The light feeling immediately rushes to his head, his cheeks, the tips of his ears, and Hajime has to turn away. He nods and replies, “I’m just glad I could help.”

“I know,” He hears Oikawa say from beside him. And then, the bubble pops as Oikawa opens his door. He’s stepping outside with Hajime hurrying to catch up.

They meet at the front walkway to the house as Oikawa waits for him there. He’s grinning again, the wry one that means he’s about to poke fun as he says, “Wow Officer Iwa-chan, you're about to meet the parents even before the first date! Are you nervous?”

“A bit.” Hajime replies honestly though not clarifying any further. He shifts from foot to foot, rolls out his shoulders and turns to Oikawa. “Ready?”

Oikawa nods. “As I’ll ever be.” He reaches out and gives Hajimes hand a quick squeeze before straightening his posture and walking toward the door.

So, Hajime follows just a half step behind.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This fic was a 2 year labor of love that i definitely forgot about for about 16 months oops anyway, if you want the full alien scoop, keep reading, if not, i hope you liked it!!
> 
> THE TRUTH:  
> Oikawa was abducted by aliens, but the feds know about that spot. They’re aware aliens stop there every new year so when they hear some guy goes missing in that spot on that day, they jump on it. They get there before local cops, cut out the note pages in the journal, and then play it cool not realizing that his laptop is full of research until its been photoed already.  
> Eventually, the aliens drop Oikawa back off like 6 months later at the same spot but the feds get to him first. He gets grilled, interrogated, and then memory wiped MIB style and dropped off in Kami a year later (they’re the ones who put in the initial 911 call).  
> So in the present, the feds have what they want and will leave Oikawa alone (they're keeping an eye on his tho) leaving him and hajime free to go on cute coffee dates and fall in love. The end!!!


End file.
